Pretend To Be Mine
by Sux2budude
Summary: They were supposed to pretend.She pretends to date him, and he plays along. She did it to get her mom off her back about "finding the perfect guy", and he went along for the fun of it. The fact that she's a freshman, and that he had to tutor a freshman to make up for his credits, made it win-win situation. They just didn't expect their feelings to get in the way of their agreement.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Pretend To Be Mine

Pairing: Donald/Stacie

Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything… I also don't own Pitch Perfect.

Author's Note: Hey everyone! Well, this is just a story that I wrote over the past month. It's a little plot that kept nagging me, and wouldn't go away, so I decided to write it and post it up on FFn. It will be slightly AU, and the characters may seem OC, but it'll eventually shape them to who they seemed to be in the movie. Anyway, I hope you like it, and review if you have time. Thanks!

Summary: They were _supposed _to be pretending. That was their agreement. She pretended to date him, and he played along. She did it to get her mom off her back about "finding the perfect guy", and he went along for the fun of it… And the fact that she is a freshman, and that he_ had_ to tutor a freshman to make up for his credits, made it win-win situation. What they _didn't _expect, was for things to get out of hand, and for their feelings to get in the way of their agreement.

* * *

_**Chapter One**_

* * *

...

Stacie tried not to groan out loud when her mother asked about her love-life_ again_. "Mom, I'm trying to focus on school." Stacie said into her phone.

"I know sweety, but is it so wrong for me to want you to have someone to look after you while you're in school?"

"Of course not. But aren't you supposed to be encouraging me to focus on school first, and not on guys?"

"Yes, but it would be nice if you found that perfect boy who would make you happy."

Stacie smiled sadly. Ever since her dad passed away two years ago, her mom has done everything she could to cover up for the loss of her father, by trying to make her happy. It was great and all, but Stacie sometimes felt like she was a burden to her mother; a weight that was pulling her mother down. That's why she was happy to go to college. She thought it would give her mother some time to focus on herself, but even with the distance, her mother was still concerned about her and her happiness.

"I'm happy, mom." She said softly.

"I know… but imagine how much happier you would be if you found a boy who would make you smile every day?"

Stacie nearly rolled her eyes. It's not that she hates that her mother was trying to get her to date again. It's just that, every single guy she's ever dated, were all assholes, and jerks who either cheated, lost interest, or was just completely perverted. It sucked.

"Fine." She sighed heavily. " I'll try to make new friends, and meet new people… and maybe I'll find Mr. Right."

Stacie could picture her mom bouncing up and down excitedly on the sofa at their house. "That's great, sweety!"

"Yeah, listen mom; I really have to get to my next class now, so I gotta go, okay?"

"Okay, I'll call you tonight."

"Sure." The two exchanged goodbyes and Stacie hurried to grab her bag before heading to class.

She doesn't consider it lying. It was more like fibbing. This was college, so she was bound to meet new people. She was going to run into a lot of jerks who would try to hit on her, and she would ignore them all. She's sure she'll find someone she'd like to date, but she wasn't going to be pursuing anything with anyone anytime soon. She wanted to focus on school. She's had her fair share of boyfriends, and all of her past relationships always ended the same way; A disaster.

* * *

Stacie came to a halt at her first class of the day. English. She was an English major, so she was required to take a lot of English classes. Stacie stepped inside the classroom and took a seat on the front row by the window, and waited patiently for the rest of the class to file in one by one.

She wanted to become a writer. Her imagination was wild, and writing was her go-to when she was stressed, or when she just wanted to be alone with her thoughts. She writes everything down in her journal. Sometimes, she wrote extremely long letters in her journal, and most times, they were extremely short notes. They weren't always for her. Sometimes she means to write it to someone she hates, or some stranger she saw, and other times, it was to her mom or someone from her extremely large family. She _never _actually gave her notes to anyone. They were just her thoughts on them, and she doesn't intend on letting anyone see her personal thoughts. Her journal was old. Her dad gave it to her on her fourteenth birthday, and she's had it ever since. It was old, weathered, and stained. Its cover was held together by the lock that came with it, and the key to the lock hung around her neck, on a silver chain she had gotten as a gift from her grandmother, on her 16th birthday. Her journal, her necklace, and her customized fountain pen (which her mom had bought for her from Italy while on a business trip), were her three most prized possessions. She would never let anyone hold it, or even touch it. They belonged to her, and that was the way she liked it.

Stacie remembered when her third boyfriend tried to break through her journal and tried to read it. She had slapped him hard across the face, and then she dumped him. His name was Chad, and he was a total douchebag. He was loud, obnoxious, and extremely rude, and on top of that, he was a lying, cheating, asshole who never once opened a door for her.

Stacie remembered her fourth boyfriend. He was a lying thief, and tried to pawn off her silver necklace when she had taken it off that onetime she went swimming with her cousins and he had tagged along. His name was Sean, and he was almost always high. Either that, or he was stuffing his face with every food Stacie had ever seen. She had to buy back her necklace when she finally found out that Sean had pawned it, and then she had broken up with him after punching him in the face.

Stacie remembered her last boyfriend. The one she had dated during her senior year in high school. His name was Kyle. He was tall, and handsome. He played on the football team, and he was popular. She had dated him for four months, until she overheard him talking to his football teammates one day. She was on her way to see him when she heard him talking with a bunch of guys, a few days before the prom. It's been a little bit over a year since her dad had died of cancer. Stacie remembered the anger she had felt when she found out from that one conversation she had overheard, that not only was Kyle cheating on her with that blonde cheerleader with the overgrown pigtails, he was also planning on forcing her into sleeping with him on prom night. And to top it all off, she heard Kyle say that he thanks every holy being out there, that Stacie's dad was dead, otherwise he wouldn't have dated her at all. Stacie remembered the way her face burned from complete and total fury as she walked up to the first thing she saw, which were cleats, and she hit him across the face with it. She ended everything there, spat on his football jersey, kicked him in the balls, and left. He still has that little scar by his left eye where she had whacked him with the cleat. She had threatened his very existence, if he ever talked about her father like that again.

After that, Stacie vowed to focus on school. She was tired of dating all these jerks and perverts, and twisted idiots. She wasn't going to date, and that was final.

* * *

...

It was nearly twenty minutes into class when Stacie looked up from her English textbook at the sound of the door swinging open. A guy with brown skin, dark black hair, and glasses, slipped into class and tried to go unnoticed as he quietly sneaked to the only empty desk in the room, which was right behind hers.

He sat down, and shrugged off his backpack, before pulling out his textbook and flipping to the page number as directed on the dry-erase board.

"Mr. Travers, you will do well to know that my class starts at 8:00 sharp… Not 8:18."

"Yes Mr. Larson." The guy said. His voice was deep and almost velvety. Sort of husky like he's been sleeping before he came to class.

Stacie glanced back at the guy, and he looked up right then, their eyes meeting shortly. Stacie looked away, but she could almost feel his eyes still on her. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt something poke her side. She looked around to find Tardy-guy grinning at her.

"Hey, I'm Donald."

Stacie nodded and turned back to her textbook, trying to ignore him.

He poked her again (on the shoulder), but she continued to ignore him. "What's your name?" he whispered.

"Mr. Travers, I believe your assignment is on the board. The answers are in the textbook. Not on the back of Ms. Conrad's head." Their instructor called.

Stacie blushed crimson as everyone in class started sniggering.

A few minutes later, Stacie felt Donald poke her on the shoulder again, and this time he leaned forward to whisper in her ear, "So what's your first name, Ms. Conrad?"

Stacie turned to him and glared at him in annoyance as she whispered, "That's for me to know, and for you to find out… Now stop bothering me. I'm trying to finish my assignment." Stacie turned back to her textbook and glared at the words on there, because she couldn't focus on her book anymore.

"Oooh, feisty." She heard him whisper. "I like you already."

Stacie ignored him as she continued to stare blankly at her textbook. Not long after that, she felt him poke her again. Stacie turned her head towards him and gave him a death glare. He grinned and leaned forward so that his face was very close to hers. "Could I borrow your pen?" he whispered.

Stacie rolled her eyes and thrust her pen towards him. He tore a piece of paper from the back of his English textbook and scribbled something onto it, before handing the pen back to her. Stacie ignored the little tingle she felt when his fingers gently brushed against hers. She immediately turned back to her textbook and tried her best to focus on getting her assignment done. Before she could read past the first sentence, she felt Donald poke her again. She ignored him, but then a piece of paper dropped onto her textbook. She picked it up and stared at the ten-digits written neatly on the piece of paper. She glanced behind her at Donald, giving him a questioning look. He merely winked, stuck his pinky and thumb out and held it to his ear and mouth, mimicking a phone.

_Call me._ He mouthed. Flashing one last grin and a wink, he looked over at the instructor and raised his hand in the air.

Hard as she tried, Stacie couldn't help the way the corners of her lips pulled up into a tiny smile.

"Excuse me Mr. Larson, may I go to the nurses office? I'm not feeling well."

The instructor gave him a skeptical look before sighing and taking out a piece of paper to scribble down a note to the nurse.

Donald tried to look weak and lightheaded as he took the note from the instructor and headed towards the door. He threw one last glance at Stacie, winked again, and then left.

Stacie rolled her eyes at him and looked back down at her textbook. This was going to be a _long_ year.

* * *

...

Stacie sighed in relief as she flopped down onto her bed. She knew it was only a matter of time before her mom would be calling. Sure enough, Stacie heard her phone ring from its place on her little nightstand. She answered on the third ring with a quick "Hey, mom."

"Hi, sweety. So how was your first day of school?"

Stacie shrugged nonchalantly. "It was okay."

"Made any new friends?"

"A few." She lied. She didn't talk to anyone, and she didn't pay attention to anyone outside of class.

"Any particular guys caught your eye?"

"Umm—," Stacie's mind raced. She knew how much her mom wanted her to be happy, and she knows her mom won't ever stop nagging her about finding a boyfriend. "Yeah, there's this one guy." It wasn't exactly lying. She was fibbing again.

Her mother practically squealed in excitement. "What's his name?"

Stacie glanced around her room, searching her mind for a name, when her eyes landed on her English textbook. A smile slid onto her lips as she uttered _his_ name. "Donald. Donald Travers."

"Ooh, he sounds smart."

Stacie nearly laughed. "Yeah, he's _really _smart."

"What does he look like?" her mom asked.

Stacie was caught off guard by her mom's question. "Umm—He's…" his face flashed inside her mind, and she tried to ignore the way her whole body tingled at the thought of him. "He has dark hair. Brown skin. And he wears glasses, and his smile is…" she trailed off, and closed her eyes as she pictured Donald. He _is _cute. "His smile is… cute." She blushed a bit as she absentmindedly flipped through the pages of her English textbook.

"Aww, he sounds great."

Stacie nodded. "Yeah."

"So are you going to ask him out?"

"What? No!" Stacie said with wide eyes. "Mom, girls don't ask guys out."

"Why not?" her mom questioned.

"Ugh, I don't know… we just don't. I don't know about _your_ time, but nowadays, the guys are the one's asking the girls out. Not the other way around."

Stacie's mom sighed into the receiver. "Fine, but remember Stacie, sweet boys aren't going to stay single forever."

Stacie grinned_._ "I know." She muttered.

Stacie changed the subject and asked about her mom's day, and about her work. After nearly an hour, their conversation finally came to a close.

"Well, you're probably tired, so I'll let you get some sleep." Her mom muttered softly.

Stacie nodded when she remembered how tired she had been.

They said their goodbyes before Stacie hung up and closed her textbook. She put it away on her nightstand and gently laid her backpack by her bed, when a piece of paper floated out of her bag. She picked it up and looked at it. A wide smile formed slowly on her face as she stared at the ten-digits written on the piece of paper in Donald's handwriting. Stacie pulled the top drawer of her nightstand out and carefully placed the piece of paper inside and closing it. She turned her lamp off and adjusted her pillow before lying down and slowly dozing off into sleep.

* * *

...

Stacie got up early for her morning jog. She threw on a pair of sweatpants and an old ratty t-shirt, threw her hair up into a ponytail, and left her dorm room at 5:00 sharp. This was how she started her daily routine back home, and she liked to keep up with her old routines, save for dating.

Stacie turned the volume up on her I-pod and picked up the pace on the campus tracking field. It was fairly cold out, but she's grown accustomed to cold weather, so it didn't really bother her that the wind was biting at her face. She slowed down a bit after a while, and that's when she saw a group of guys in the Barden University hoodies, huddled together, and … singing?

Stacie stopped shortly and pulled out one of the earbuds out of her ear. She strained to listen to whatever the guys were singing, and that's when she saw him. Donald Travers. He was the one who was belting out the lyrics to _Fine By Me _by Andy Grammer. He looked a whole lot different from the guy she met in class yesterday. He was wearing dark jeans, and his Barden University hoodie, and it suited him well. He sounded good too. A few of the guys looked over in her direction and Stacie looked away as she stuck the earbud back into her ear before starting to jog again. She was maybe halfway through her last lap, when she saw the group disperse and all go in different directions. She slowed down yet again and tried to find _him _amongst the others, but she found herself stopping in her tracks when she saw him standing five feet away from her, with a huge smile on his face.

"Didn't know you jog." He called as he trudged over to her.

Stacie quirked an eyebrow at him. "Why would you? You don't even know me."

He laughed as he got closer. "True, but I like to know what goes on with the beautiful girls around here."

Stacie rolled her eyes at him and turned to walk back towards her dorm. He hurried to catch up to her, and soon they were walking side by side.

"You're a freshman, right?"

Stacie casted a questioning glance at him. "Why do you wanna know?" she asked.

He shrugged as he stuck his hands in the pockets of his hoodie. "I'm just curious."

Stacie sighed softly, "Yeah… you?"

"Senior. Not a good one."

Stacie laughed, "I noticed."

"Ouch." He winced.

Stacie laughed harder as he rubbed his chest in mock pain. "You said it yourself."

He laughed too, and she finds it… soothing, his laugh.

"Can I walk you to your room?" he asked.

"We're almost there, so you really don't have to."

He shook his head and continued to walk alongside her. "Not an acceptable answer."

She quirked an eyebrow at him.

He smirked. "No girl has ever turned down an offer from _The Donald _to walk her to her room."

Stacie smirked as she sped up and turned around while walking backwards. "There's a first time for everything, right?"

Donald stopped, a grin spreading widely across his lips. "You'll agree next time." he challenged.

Stacie couldn't stop the smile forming on her lips as she turned towards her dorm. She looked once over her shoulder where he's still standing there with his hands in the pockets of his hoodie. "Maybe I will." she called, before taking off into a jog up to her room.

She quickly stripped out of her jogging clothe and headed for the showers. She doesn't even realize that she still had a huge smile on her face.

-DS-

* * *

…

Author's Note: Heeeeey! Well, that concludes chapter 1!... This chapter was mainly to give you all a dose of the type of characters that I portrayed for Stacie and Donald. Next chapter, I'll be pulling out the big guns. You'll find out what's in store in the next chapter, so stay tuned for more STONALD! Thanks for reading, and please R&R!

-Sux2budude


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Pretend To Be Mine

Pairing: Donald/Stacie

Author's Note: Hey, I just want to give a big THANKS to those who have reviewed, as well as favorited and followed this story. I really appreciate it. This chapter will take a quick turn from the fun and cheerful chapter one. There will be a lot of mother-daughter bonding, as well as Stonald-alone time. I really hope you all like it, so please review!

* * *

_**Chapter Two**_

* * *

…

Life in general sucks, but occasionally, it gets better.

Stacie smiled when she saw the flyers of the Barden Bella's on one of the bulletin boards in the girls dorms. She's heard of them before, but she never really thought they would let just about anyone in. She loved singing, even though she wasn't exactly good at it. It's just something that the average person likes to do.

"Hey Conrad girl!" Stacie heard someone call her last name from across the hall of the girls dorm. She whirled around when she recognized the voice.

Donald was jogging towards her, panting slightly. "Con-r-rad—Conrad girl!" he called again as he finally stopped in front of her and leaned on his hands on his knees.

"Stop calling my last name." Stacie whispered in annoyance.

He finally looked up, his glasses sliding slightly off his nose. He stood up straight, a smirk planted firmly on his lips as he pushed his glasses back into place. "If you're not gonna tell me your name, then I guess I'll just call you the Conrad girl." He said as he used the back of his sleeve to wipe off the thin sheet of sweat across his forehead.

Stacie rolled her eyes at him and turned away to go back to her room.

He followed closely behind her. "You are a very hard-to-find person." Donald stated.

Stacie looked at him. "Why are you trying to find me?" she questioned curiously.

Donald cocked his head to the side. "Didn't know I needed a reason to find you."

Stacie rolled her eyes again. "Well, now you know." She said and sped up a little.

He only sped up too and continued to walk alongside her.

"What do you want?" Stacie asked.

Donald shrugged, "I want to know your name."

"Why?"

"Do I really need a reason to know your name?" Donald asked incredulously.

Stacie pretended to think about it, before answering. "Yes. For all I know, you could be a serial killer, or a kidnapper, or a thief, or a rapist, or a—,"

"Alright, I get it!" Donald said quickly, cutting her off. He looked around warily. "Jeez woman, stop talking so loudly." He whispered. "I think half the floor heard you and they're thinking I'm one of those." He muttered.

Stacie quirked an eyebrow at him, "Are you?" she asked with a smirk.

Donald laughed, "You've got jokes, huh?"

Stacie flipped her hair over in his face as she continued to walk.

"I'm going to my room." She stated.

Donald smirked and followed her. "Do you wanna have lunch with me?" he asked almost excitedly.

Stacie stopped abruptly and turned her head to look at him. "Are you asking me out?" she asked.

"If you're gonna say yes, then yes." Donald nodded.

"And if I say no?"

Donald shrugged. "You won't."

Stacie folded her arms across her chest and turned to face him. "What makes you so sure?" she questioned.

"No one has ever rejected _The_ Donald."

Stacie rolled her eyes and turned back to continue towards her room. They went up a flight of stairs, before they finally reached the floor with her room.

Stacie cleared her throat softly before speaking. "I—look, I'm sure you're a great guy… deep down, _way _on the inside." She began.

Donald rolled his eyes at her. "Ha-Ha. You're hilarious."

Stacie smirked at him. "Thank you."

"but?" Donald asked, waiting for that impending rejection that he could already see on her face, and the news about her having a boyfriend. He felt a weird sinking feeling at the pit of his stomach, and he can't quite describe it. It's like a mixture of sadness and something else, warring inside his brain and sinking like quicksand to his feet.

"But, I'm trying to focus on school right now, and I can't be in a—,"

"Wait. What?" he asked quickly cutting her off, not quite sure if he had heard her right.

"I'm trying to focus on school." Stacie repeated slowly.

"So you're not dating anyone?" he asked, and Stacie didn't know what to think about the grin spreading across his handsome features.

"Umm, no." she said shaking her head in confusion.

Donald nearly jumped up and down, feeling victorious. _She wasn't dating anyone!_ He quickly abandoned the thought, and cleared his throat as he tried to keep his facial features straight, even though a grin was threatening to split his face in two. "Umm, so you're just trying to focus on school, and you're _not _dating anyone?"

Stacie nodded, "I believe so, yes."

Donald nodded as his mind raced. "And when will you stop focusing on school?"

Stacie's eyebrows furrowed further in confusion. "I won't stop until I graduate."

"That's four years away." Donald said flatly, and his brain nearly stopped functioning. _Four years?!_

"Yeah."

"So, you won't start dating until you graduate?"

Stacie nodded.

"And you don't have your sights set on anyone?"

Stacie stared at him. She actually has _someone_ in mind, and she wasn't about to admit that she liked him back, so she tried to change the subject. "What's with the one-man interrogation squad?"

Donald blinked and looked away. "Uhh, just curious. As you're fellow upperclassman, I have to make sure that the freshmen are doing as they're directed and that they focus on school."

Stacie stared at him unconvinced that he was _just _looking out for a fellow underclassman. But she muttered a soft, "Okay."

Donald nodded, turned on his heels and walked away. "I'll see you around!" he called over his shoulder.

Stacie shook her head as she turned towards the direction of her room and walked towards it. But even with so many thoughts racing across her mind, she couldn't stop herself from smiling.

* * *

...

…

It's the third month since school started, and Stacie had just gotten off the phone with her mom. This time, she felt terrible because she didn't just fib with her answers. She had flat out _lied _to her mom about having a boyfriend. It's not that she didn't want to tell her mom the truth. It's just that her mom kept nagging her about finding a good boyfriend, so she lied and said that Donald Travers had asked her out, and that she had said yes. She just wanted her mom to know that she was indeed happy, and it seemed like her mom didn't think it possible if Stacie didn't have a boyfriend.

Stacie sighed heavily as she stared up at the ceiling of her room. The weather was getting colder each day, and she found herself spending a lot of her time inside the warmth of her room. Her roommate, a blonde girl who called herself Fat Amy, kept popping out of nowhere and asking if she'd like to go shopping. Stacie loved shopping, but lately, she's been staying inside and doing a lot of online shopping instead. Maybe it's the fact that she didn't like cold weather, or the fact that Donald Travers wasn't even around anymore because according to Fat Amy's boyfriend Bumper, (who happened to be Donald's best friend) Donald went home to see his mom who was in the hospital, and won't be back for a whole other week.

All in all, this week was the worst week she's had since she's been here at Barden University.

* * *

...

_One month later…_

Stacie Conrad, _always _loved spending time with her mother. _But, _life was _so _damn unfair, that she found herself in a situation where she feared facing her own mother.

Stacie answered her phone on the fifth ring when her mother called. She knew what was to come. Her mom had called a week earlier and broke out the news of the possibility that she might be headed to Atlanta on a business trip, and she might get the chance to drop by at the Barden University to see Stacie, and officially meet her "boyfriend" Donald Travers.

Stacie took a deep breath, "Hey mom." She greeted weakly.

"Hey sweety! Great news!" her mom practically screeched.

Stacie closed her eyes tightly. That phrase used to give her an amazing thrill. It usually meant something good. And it _does _to a certain degree. Until the fact that Stacie's so called "boyfriend", doesn't even know that they were supposedly "dating" for two months in Stacie's mothers mind, killed the feeling.

"Let me guess, you're headed to Atlanta?" Stacie predicted.

Her mom squealed in delight. "YES! I'll be there in a week, and you can tell me all about your school, and we'll have some mother-daughter bonding time, and I'll finally meet your infamous boyfriend, Donald!"

Stacie couldn't help but smile a bit, even though she was feeling terrible. Her mother always rambled when she was excited, and it made her feel good that she was in a way, the source of excitement. She focused on the last bit of her mother's sentence. "He's not _my _Donald, mom."

"Nonsense! I'm sure any boy who would get my daughter smitten, belongs wholeheartedly to you because he seems to be keeping you all cheerful."

Stacie's brows furrowed in confusion. "Uhh, not that he doesn't get me cheerful, but, how do you figure I'm cheerful?" she asked curiously.

Her mom laughed a bit before answering, "Sweety, I know when my daughter feels something for a person. If it's not love, it's a special connection that will eventually lead to something bigger. And you have it. I just know by the way you talk about him."

Stacie was silent for a few moments as she thought back on the last four months since she had met Donald. He was confusing, extremely annoying, a bit rude, and sometimes acts like a five year old, but… He _always _made her smile or laugh. He sometimes dropped by her dorm and wait for her at the front door, nagging her to let him walk her to her room, which is about 14 feet away from the front door. She denied his offers of course, but it never stopped him from trying again, every single day. And Stacie even realized that she looked forward to the ends of her classes, just so she could hurry to her dorm, to see him leaning against the wall, his arms crossed across his chest, and the same, boyishly playful grin planted firmly on his face. It was confusing how he jumps from this sweet guy who's trying to impress and sweet talk her everyday, to the guy who walks around campus, winking at anything and everything in a mini skirt. She still had that weird feeling in her gut when she catches him in the act of flirting or winking, or just checking some girl out. She has the suspicion she knows exactly what that feeling is, but she chose to call it annoyance.

"Fine." Stacie finally muttered.

"See? Mother knows best."

Stacie rolled her eyes but grinned. "Yep. You sure do."

"Well, I think you should get some rest. You have English class tomorrow morning, right?" her mom asked.

"Yeah." Stacie agreed.

"Okay then, I'll call you again tomorrow or the day after, but I'll see you in a week, sweety."

Stacie's voice cracked up as she said her goodbyes. She hung up and groaned loudly.

She had no idea how she was going to pull off a lie. She had only one thing to do. It was totally against her rules, but she had no other choice. Desperate times call for desperate measures, right?

Stacie rolled over in her bed and shut her lamp off. She knows she won't be getting any sleep anytime soon. She has a mission ahead of her, and that mission will either fix everything, or ruin everything. But she's willing to risk it all, if only to convince her mother, that she was indeed, very happy with her life.

As her eyes finally closed after nearly an entire hour, Stacie's thoughts flitted to the next day. She wondered how she was going to pull this deal off, but she had no other choice. It was all or nothing before her mom arrives in Atlanta in a week.

* * *

…

Authors Note: This is chapter two, and thanks for reading. Please review, and I'll update as soon as possible. I'm also sorry for cutting this chapter short. The next one will be a tad bit heavier than this easy, light, fun chapter. Thanks again!

-Sux2budude


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Pretend To Be Mine

Pairing: Donald/Stacie

* * *

Author's Note: Hello, fellow readers! Just an FYI, this chapter will be the start of the "agreement" for Stacie and Donald. It'll seem a bit unrealistic, and coincidental, but let's just call it _fate, _shall we?... Anyway, thank you all so much for reading. A special humongous gigantic thanks to those who have reviewed, favorited and followed this particular story. It really means a lot to me. But enough of my ramblings. Let's get back to the story, shall we? Onward!

* * *

_**Chapter Three**_

* * *

…

She was nervously fidgeting with the strap on her backpack as she stared at the door and waited for him to walk through it. It annoyed her that he was constantly late to class. Not that she looked forward to seeing him or anything. She quickly went over her plan again in her head. She was going to extreme measures, but this was for the sake of her mother. Stacie knew how much her mom worried about her, but she simply wanted the worrying and sadness to stop. She was perfectly fine with being single, but her mom was extremely adamant about a few things. One of those being the extreme nagging for Stacie to find a boyfriend.

Now that she had only a few days before her mom's visit, Stacie was going to go into some extremely tough decisions. Technically, it wasn't dating. She was going to ask Donald for his help. She was about 75% sure that he would agree to it. The other 25% was the fact that Donald is a guy who slept with girls and then leaves them the next day. _What if he doesn't want to help me? What if he thinks he's got better things to do than pretending to date me for three whole weeks?_ Stacie's nerves were all over the place. She stared at the door knob, half-hoping that it'll turn and swing open and he walks in, but the other half, hoped that he wouldn't walk in and she'll just have to postpone the impending embarrassment of asking a guy to pretend to be her boyfriend.

Stacie held back a sigh when the door opened slowly and there he was, walking… no, strutting- into the classroom like he owned it. He grinned over at her and she looked down at her open textbook, hoping it didn't look too obvious that she was staring at the door.

Mr. Larson sighed in annoyance as Donald coolly plopped down in his usual seat behind Stacie. "Mr. Travers, this is the eighth time I've warned you to stop showing up late to my class." Mr. Larson scolded.

Stacie tried to hide the smile forming on her lips when she heard Donald mumble, "I really don't care."

"Excuse me?" Mr. Larson said loudly with a raised brow.

Donald put on his most innocent smile and said, "I said I really won't dare… to do it again."

Mr. Larson didn't look the least bit convinced but huffed in annoyance as he shook his head. "I am really sorry to inform you of this, Mr. Travers, but you are a Senior, and in order for you to graduate, you are required to pass my class. I can't let you pass if you keep showing up late. Your test scores seem good, but your habit of showing up whenever you feel like it, isn't helping you achieve anything."

Donald leaned further back into his desk. "Look, I'll show up early next time, Mr. Larson." He says, but the instructor was already shaking his head.

"As much as I want to believe you, I know for a fact that you _won't_ show up on time next time… Not when you've said that at least five times before this."

Donald scoffed and rolled his eyes at the instructor. "Fine, what do you suppose I should do?"

It took only a minute before Mr. Larson cocked his head to the side as he answered, "I suppose you could get acquainted with Mr. Mop."

"Who the hell is Mr. Mop?" Donald asked in total confusion. About half the class sniggered quietly.

"Mr. Mop, Mr. Bucket, and Mrs. Scrubber." Mr. Larson added as a bonus hint. It took a moment before it suddenly registered in Donald's mind.

"You'll clean my classroom for the entire week." Mr. Larson said firmly.

Donald blinked incredulously at the instructor. "Is this some sort of joke?" he asked. "How is that supposed to help me pass this class?"

"It isn't. It's your punishment for showing up late three times in a row. As for your scores, you can pull them up if you help one of your fellow underclassmen with this class. I want a full report from said underclassmen, regarding your knowledge, skill, memory, success, and promptness in tutoring them."

Donald nearly choked on air as he stared up at the instructor. "Tutoring? You mean, I have to…" he trailed off as he stared at the door, looking like he was about to bolt.

"You will choose one classmate in this room, to tutor. If I receive a good report regarding your knowledge in this class, then I'll add extra credit for every day I receive a good report."

Stacie, who was pretending to do her class work, perked up at that. She quickly ran a few random worst case scenarios in her head before smiling. This might actually be her answer.

"You've gotta be kidding me." Donald muttered loudly.

Mr. Larson turned and walked back to his desk. "I'm not, Mr. Travers… and you will do well to make sure you pass this class. If not…" he paused to look back at Donald over his shoulder. "Well, then I'll see you again next year."

Donald wanted to pull out his hair as well as Mr. Larson's very few hairs.

"Fuck that." Stacie heard Donald say under his breath.

She turned around, and flashed a tiny grin towards Donald, knowing very well that his reaction to her grins were always the same. She turned back around and stared blankly down at her textbook.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, Stacie felt him tap her shoulder lightly. "Hey, Conrad… need a tutor?"

Stacie turned around and raised an eyebrow at him, careful to make herself look irresistible. She's satisfied with herself when she watched as he slowly licked his lips.

_Bingo!_

* * *

…

She swayed her hips as she walked out of class when the bell rang. Stacie's excitement is heightened when she heard the thudding sound of someone running up behind her.

"Hey Conrad girl!" he called.

Stacie paused in her step, but didn't turn to look at him.

He came up beside her, grinning widely.

"What do you want, Travers boy?" she asked.

Donald's grin grew wider as he stepped up closer to her. "I uhh, I wanted to ask if you would be interested in being my tutee."

Stacie quirked her eyebrow higher. "I don't exactly _need_ a tutor."

He actually smiled. A _smile. _Not a grin, or a smirk, but an actual smile. It was kind of… cute.

"Exactly! Then I won't need to _actually_ tutor you. You could just _say_ that I _did_, give Mr. Larson a good report, and I'll actually pass his class." He shrugged like it didn't really matter to him.

Stacie rolled her eyes at him. "And what do _I _get out of this?"

Donald's smile immediately turned into his usual smirk. "_This guy." _He pointed to himself.

Stacie scoffed. She couldn't believe she told her mother that she was dating this guy. He was cocky, obnoxious, oblivious, egotistical, and completely immature.

Donald could see the annoyance on her face, and he knew he had to do something to convince her. He's always found it easy to convince his parents to let him do something when he stops acting like a complete idiot, so he gave it a shot.

"Look, I—" he paused, wondering if she was actually worth showing his soft side to. He stared into her green eyes, wondering what it was about her eyes that was sucking his soul out. He snapped out of his staring and blinked several times. "I uhh—," Donald looked down at his feet, feeling that familiar chill in his bones. He's been here before. He's felt this way before, but the last time he let himself into this, it ended terribly. He doesn't think he has anymore strength to go through something like that again. So he does what he always does. He shuts off.

"Nevermind. I'm sorry." He said, before turning on his heels and walking away quickly.

Stacie blinked several times, wondering what had just happened. "Oh shit." She muttered. She wracked her brains for a reason as to why she didn't just agree to let him tutor her. _She _needed his help for when her mother would come over to visit her. Stacie stared at him as he continued down the hallway, without another backward glance.

* * *

...

Donald sighed heavily as he stared at his dinner. He hasn't gone to any of his classes after his English classes, and he tried to figure out why he's feeling this way. He knows it has something to do with that Conrad girl. He just doesn't know what exactly it is that he's feeling. He stood up and shoved his dinner plate into the trash bin, before walking over to his bed. He pulled his shirt off and shoved off his jeans. Before he could plop down onto his bed in only his briefs, a loud knock interrupted him.

Donald groaned, searching his mind for any Treble meetings he might've forgotten. He came up with nothing. And his mind was wiped clean as he pulled the door open, to reveal the girl standing outside his door.

* * *

…

Stacie's mouth watered at the sight before her. Standing half-naked in his room, with a confused look on his face.

"Hi." She greeted, suddenly feeling shy as she felt the blush rise up in her cheeks.

"Uhh, hey." He greeted back. "Umm, do you wanna come in?" he asked as he stood back and swung the door wider.

Stacie nodded and stepped inside, looking around inside his room. She expected his room to be messy, with posters of naked girls on the walls, complete with loud rock music, and the stench of sweat and dirty laundry in the air. But, instead, she found herself standing inside a neatly organized room, full of books, a record player, Vinyls of Led Zepplin hanging on the walls, and lots and lots of books. And the room smelled amazing; a mixture of Axe and something else entirely. It was oddly… alluring.

"Nice room." She said in awe. It really was a nice room. She guessed that it was true that Seniors have all the perks, because her own room which she shared with her roommate, was about half the size of his room.

Donald felt himself relax as she looked around his room. He watched her carefully, as she stared around the room. Her expression slowly changing from surprised, to pure amusement.

"Thanks." He finally managed to say.

Stacie waited a beat before jumping straight to the reason as to why she came over at such a late hour. "I have a proposition for you."

Donald nearly choked on his saliva as he tried to swallow. "You what?" he suddenly found himself wondering what he had just asked. He usually never questioned a girls intentions. Girls came and go, throwing themselves at him like fireworks on the fourth of July. He would jump them and dump them. Case closed. No, two-time things, no weekend flings… nothing. Just a whole lot of jumpin' into the sack, before he's turnin' his back. It's along the lines of his personal motto. _"Once is enough, twice is forgiven, any more is forbidden." _ But… for some reason, he was actually curious as to what that meant, coming from the Conrad girl. Clearly, his mind was too dirty because she was suddenly rolling her eyes.

"I'm not propositioning myself, if that's what you were thinking." She stated after watching his reaction to what she said.

Donald nearly smacked himself in the face for jumping to such a dirty topic. "Oh, uhh… so this proposition." He said nervously as he folded his arms across his chest. "What exactly are you propositioning again?"

Stacie hid her grin well as she too folded her arms across her own chest, mimicking his actions. "An agreement."

Donald blinked in confusion but nodded for her to continue.

"I will be your tutee." She paused to give him time to process that. He looked a bit wary.

"And?" he asked.

Stacie sighed as she glanced over at his desk. "Umm, could we please sit down somewhere in here so we can actually discuss this?"

Donald nodded as he uncrossed his arms and led the way further into his room, before sitting down on his bed. Stacie had to fight the urge to stare at his muscled arms, and perfectly defined abs. It was quite distracting when he kept moving, subconsciously flexing every muscle in his upper body. Stacie could only allow her eyes to wander over his upper body. Anything below that region, would probably serve as a temptation, or torture. Either way, Stacie tore her eyes away and stared around his room some more. A picture frame on his desk caught her eye, and she smiled inwardly when she saw a picture of a slightly younger him, hugging a beautiful, elderly lady, whose eyes were clearly the same color as his. She guessed it was his mother. They were both smiling, and Stacie couldn't help but think that Donald would probably be the hottest living being on the planet if he just smiled instead of smirked. His smirks weren't so bad, and maybe even a little hot, but his smiles were just… indescribable.

"So…" Donald trailed off to let Stacie say what she came over to say.

Stacie snapped back to reality, immediately feeling nervous. "I uhh, I kind of need your help."

"How so?" Donald's cocky grin swept across his features.

"I need a boyfriend." She blurted.

He's not sure if he heard her right, so he leaned forward. "Come again?"

Stacie sighed, fidgeting with the hem of her top as she sank down on his desk chair, before launching into a brief explanation of why she needed his help. "Look, my mom has been nagging me to find a boyfriend. I'm not going to go into details about the reason why for now, but let's just say that my mother thinks it's impossible for me to be happy without a boyfriend to _make _me happy."

"So you want me to find you a boyfriend?" he asked incredulously.

"Not exactly…"

Donald gestured for her to continue because he's still not sure where he comes into all of this.

"I need you to pretend to be my boyfriend for when my mother comes over to visit me next week." She says quickly.

It takes a few moments for Donald to respond, simply because he was searching his barely functioning brain for a reply. "You need me to do what?" was all he could come up with.

"I need a boyfriend, okay?" Stacie looked away, feeling embarrassed by the fact that she is about to admit. "I may have lied to my mom about finding a boyfriend, and now she thinks I've been in a three month relationship with a guy named Donald Travers… you."

Donald's face threatened to split in two as he grinned widely. "You totally wanted me when we first met." He teased.

Stacie rolled her eyes, "I did not." She argued sternly.

Donald quirked an eyebrow. "But you do now?"

Stacie opened her mouth to snap out a retort, but slowly closed it when she realized that that was what she practically said just now.

"Shut up." She snapped. " Look, I just wanted to convince my mother that I _am_ happy, and when she asked for the name of my so called boyfriend, your name was just the first name that popped into mind, okay?"

Donald scoffed, "Fine, you can go ahead and deny the fact that you totally dig this." He said pointing at his abs.

Stacie's blush increased, and she felt her face burning in embarrassment. "Whatever… so what do you say?" she asked, hope lacing her tone. "It's a win-win situation, you know?... I pretend to be your tutee, and you'll pretend to be my boyfriend."

He really didn't have to think about it. He was going to say yes anyway, but he pretended to think about it. He rubbed his cleanly shaven chin as he scrunched up his eyebrows slightly, pretending to be thinking really hard.

Stacie sat there for a max of two whole minutes, nervously awaiting Donald's answer.

As soon as Donald saw the worry flit across her features, he stopped pretending to think, and finally answered, if only to wipe away the worried look on her face. It made him feel weird to see her worried. "Deal."

Stacie visibly relaxed as she sighed in relief. "Good. I was getting ready to choke you to death if you said no." She joked.

Donald chuckled at that. He finds it extremely easy and fun to just sit there and talk to the Conrad girl.

"But you have to promise me that you won't act like a total douchebag in front of my mother."

Donald gave her a confused look. "What on earth are you talking about? I'm like the most wonderful guy on this planet."

Stacie gave him a serious _I'm-Not-Kidding _kind of look, that made Donald laugh, because as intimidating as it is, he couldn't help but think it's adorable. "Fine. I'll be a good little boy, and I'll be as innocent as sweet baby Jesus."

Stacie rolled her eyes at him as he gave her one of his rare smiles. "I'm serious—," she began, but he cuts her off.

His voice is gentle, and his eyes are soft as the rare smile stays intact on his handsome face. "I promise." Stacie thinks for a moment that maybe he isn't so immature sometimes.

He got up off his bed and walked over to where Stacie sat, and stuck out his pinky towards her. She stared at his pinky, wondering what it was that he wanted her to do with his pinky. "Pinky promise?" he said cheesily.

She laughed. "What are we, five?" she asked incredulously. _Okay, he's almost always immature. _

His smile disappears, and is immediately replaced by his usual grin. "Spit handshake?" he suggested.

She rolled her eyes, but laughed at his immaturity. If she really thought about it, it was his ability to be so carefree that made her smile every time she was around him. "I think a handshake is just fine." She muttered.

He sighed heavily, but took her hand anyway. Stacie immediately felt tingles run up her arm as he held onto her hand. "We have a deal, then." He said softly. Their eyes met for a brief moment before they both pulled away from each other.

"Perfect. We start tutor sessions whenever you're ready, and I'll fill you in on my mother's visit."

Donald nodded as Stacie got ready to leave. "Awesome."

She opened his door, and stepped outside before turning back to look at him. "Thanks... For doing this." She muttered softly. He smiled back, and shook his head.

"No need to thank me… If anything, I think I'm the one who is getting the most out of this."

Stacie cocked her head to the side, "How so?"

He shrugged, "Not only do I now have a tutee, get a good report from you, pass the class and graduate, I'll also get to spend time with a beautiful girl like you."

Stacie's blush was hard to hide, since her skin was extremely pale. "Let's just call it even." She murmured.

She turned to leave before he suddenly blurted out. "I never really got your actual name, you know?" he asked.

Stacie stopped in her tracks and turned fully so that they were face to face. "My name is Stacie. Stacie Conrad."

Donald smiled widely. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Stacie."

She felt tingles all over her body when he said her name for the first time. It rolled off his tongue like the most natural thing to ever occur on this planet.

She grinned as she watched him lean against his doorframe.

"Likewise." With that, she threw in one last smile before sauntering away.

"Goodnight, girlfriend!"

She giggled when she heard him call after her. "Goodnight, boyfriend!" She called back.

Donald smiled to himself as he watched her leave. He would offer to walk her to her dorm, but he knew she'd say no. But, there was still hope. When Stacie's mother comes to visit, Stacie won't have a choice but to let him walk her to her room. After all, he was now her "boyfriend".

"Stacie Conrad." He said softly under his breath as he pushed his door closed. He likes her name.

* * *

…

Author's Note: Oh thank goodness I got that over. It's a little funny, and I personally think this story has a lot of potential for fluffy, sweet, humorous moments, as well as dramatic, angsty, sad moments. But the angst and sad parts will be in the later chapters. For now, let's all enjoy the fun Stonald moments. Anyway, I hope you liked this. Thanks for reading, and please review!

-Sux2budude

.

P.S. I'll be updating "With You" shortly... for all you Stonald fans.. much love!


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Pretend To Be Mine

Pairing: Donald/Stacie

Author's Note: Hello again! Glad you made it to Chapter four. Not much to say. Just wanted to say, I love chocolate! (Okay, that was completely irrelevant.) sorry. A bit hyper because Donald and Stacie cuteness is going to overtake this chapter. I love a story with lots of fun, playful bantering, and I think this has potential for lots of those, sooo, R&R! Thank you also for the wonderful reviews on the previous chapter! Really love you all for reviewing, following, and favoriting this story.

-Sux2budude

* * *

_**Chapter Four**_

* * *

…

"This is so unfair." Donald muttered as he plopped down on a chair inside the library.

"Well, you can't expect to get a good report from me if you don't actually do anything about this tutoring session." Stacie replied.

"I thought we had an agreement." Donald whined.

"We do. And our agreement was that I pretend to be your tutee, and you'll pretend to be my boyfriend."

"Exactly!" Donald exclaimed.

"Shhhh!" The librarian shushed at the two while glaring daggers at them.

"Pretend." Donald stated loudly, completely ignoring the Librarian. "You said _pretend_ to be my tutee. Meaning, I don't actually have to _do_ any tutoring."

"Well, I'm very sorry to break it to you, Einstein. But Mr. Larson would never believe me unless you actually make some progress in class."

"But _I'm _the one who's doing the tutoring. Why do _I _have to be the one making progress. _You're_ the tutee. Not me."

"Exactly. _You're _the one who has to do the work." Stacie said victoriously. "Now be quiet or the librarian will kick us out before we even get to start."

Donald pouted for a few moments until he noticed that Stacie was smirking at him.

Stacie couldn't help but think how adorable he looked when he's pouting.

Donald stuck his tongue out at her and turned away dejectedly to stare at a poster of a smiling book on the wall. "What idiot would put a poster of a creepy smiling book in a library?" he wondered aloud.

"Shhh!" The librarian shushed again.

"Jeez lady, way to kill my newfound interest in this geek-house."

Stacie smacked Donald's arm lightly. "You're seriously going to get us kicked out." She whispered furiously. "And this is only my freshmen year." She added.

"I'm sorry," he muttered, not sounding sorry at all. "But this place is so quiet, I swear I can hear the crickets outside, chirping through the walls." He whined.

Stacie huffed in annoyance. "Fine!" she exclaimed in a hushed tone. "where would be a better place for you to study?"

Donald's pouting lips quickly turned into a smirk. "I know the perfect place."

Fast forward half an hour later, and Stacie was _not _happy.

"Starbucks?" she asked incredulously. "Really?"

"I'm hungry." Donald said with a pained look. "I haven't eaten at all since last night."

Stacie sighed as she led the way towards the café. "Typical." She muttered under her breath.

"Oh come on, I'm trying to help you out here." Donald said as he followed her closely. "You need food to survive, and on top of that, it'll give us something to talk about when your mom arrives and she asks us how our first date was."

Stacie paused and thought about it for a second. He had a point (surprisingly). What would she tell her mom when she asks those kinds of questions? They might end up having different answers, and then her mom would surely find out about their little scheme, and it'll all blow up in their faces.

"And our first date is going to be at Starbucks?" Stacie asked incredulously.

Donald rolled his eyes with a huff, "Improvise, babe."

"Improvise what?" Stacie asked, ignoring the fact that he was extremely comfortable with her. Maybe a bit _too_ comfortable for her liking.

"We can just tell your mom that we had our first date at a nice little café somewhere around here. It's not exactly lying."

"Right, because we're _not_ lying about dating." Stacie muttered sarcastically.

Donald only raised an eyebrow at her. "We're not?"

She didn't answer his question. "Let's just go." She sighed in defeat, and grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the café. "But we're studying tonight."

Donald laughed, "Slow down, baby. There's a lot more Donald than you can handle."

"Oh believe me. I'm barely handling you right now." Stacie countered.

Donald grinned widely as he followed her through the door of the café.

-DS-

* * *

…

"So you really have no idea who James Patterson is?" Stacie asked incredulously.

Donald thought for a moment.

Stacie was about to cut in and just tell him the answer, but his face suddenly lit up like a light bulb.

"He's the guy that plays the vampire in Twilight!" he said with a fist-pump.

Stacie groaned softly, "No, genius. That's Robert Pattinson."

"Oh…" Donald said, genuinely confused. He seriously thought he had this question down. "Damn."

"_James_ Patt_errrr_son" Stacie began, drawing out the _er _in Patterson so he wouldn't mix it up with Pattinson, "Is an author of thriller novels."

Donald blinked blankly at her.

"Author of Alex Cross?" she asked, hoping he'd at least heard about the book, or watched the movie, but he only blinked again. "Maximum Ride? Witch and Wizard?... Daniel X?" Stacie listed off a few of Patterson's novels, but Donald only continued to stare blankly at her. "You've never heard of Alex Cross?"

"The blonde kid with the killer gadgets?" he asked, hoping he'd at least get_ that_ right, but Stacie was looking at him in total confusion.

"I think you're talking about Alex Rider… Operation Stormbreaker." She added as an afterthought.

Donald groaned loudly and smacked his forehead lightly onto his desk. "I will _never _remember any of this."

"You know, Mr. Larson has some pretty good memorizing techniques. Maybe if you actually showed up _on time_ to class and actually _listened_, you'd be able to _use_ those techniques as well."

Donald shook his head as he sat back up and glanced at his wrist watch. "I gotta get to class." He muttered.

She didn't try to stop him, and she tried hard to ignore the sinking feeling in her gut. She wished she could do or say something that would make him stay, but he had a class to go to, and she won't admit to herself that she really wanted him to stay a little longer. She turned away silently to pack up her stuff as well.

"Same time tomorrow?" Donald asked, trying to keep the hopefulness out of his voice. He finds that he really likes spending time with Stacie, which was weird to him, considering the fact that he had never really spent time with a girl unless it's in a bed, underneath the sheets, and totally in the nude. Stacie nodded and he quickly shrugged off the thought and focused on the now. Just this once, he was going to go through with their agreement, if only to pass his English class and graduate. After that, he was done for. No more hanging out because he doesn't "hang out" with girls, no matter how good it made him feel.

"Same time." Stacie agreed as they both headed for the door.

* * *

…

"We're screwed." Stacie muttered as she pushed her face into her pillows.

"What? Why are we screwing?" Donald asked, looking confused up from his English textbook.

"Well,_ I'm_ not screwed. _You_ are." Stacie said with a heavy sigh.

"Why?"

"Because majority of your answers are wrong." Stacie answered as she stared down at Donald's incomplete test. "And the rest is blank." She added flatly.

Donald heaved a sigh as he leaned back in Stacie's bed and closed his eyes while pinching the bridge of his nose. "That sucks."

"Yup." Stacie agreed.

"Well, I tried. Bye Stacie, I'll see you again next year when I repeat my Senior year." Donald said sarcastically as he got up from Stacie's bed.

"Stop." Stacie said sternly as she grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him back down next to her. "This is only your first test. You can _still_ pass this class."

"At least _you_ think so." Donald muttered tiredly.

"This is exactly the kind of attitude that would get you nowhere… you need to think positive and start seeing the brighter side of things."

"I really don't think there's a bright side to a test."

"There _is_ if you actually studied, and did your work honestly." Stacie deadpanned.

"Look, I'm a music and art major who barely managed to pass my other classes. I'm not good at these Academic stuff. I'm good at singing, rapping, beatboxing, painting, drawing, and graffiti and that type of shit."

"It doesn't make you brain dead, Donald. You can still pass this class if you really do your best, and actually study."

Donald groaned as he banged the back of his head into Stacie's headboard. "What do you suppose I do?"

"I think you should just stop worrying about failing and just start trying to succeed."

"You're not going to start saying all that '_believe in yourself' _type bullshit, are you?" Donald asked with a tiny smirk.

Stacie rolled her eyes. "No, Donald. I'm not going to tell you to believe in yourself. I barely believe in you, yet I'm trying to help you."

Donald nodded. "And how is that coming along?"

"Not so well." Stacie answered.

"Yep… I thought so."

The two were silent for a few long minutes, each lost in their own worlds, trying to figure out a way to go about this whole tutoring thing. Donald wracked his brain for anything that might help him remember everything they do, but came up with nothing. He also feels bad that they've spent nearly the entire week trying to improve his grade in class, that they barely had time to discuss Stacie's side of the agreement. He doesn't even know what Stacie's mothers name is. Let alone what she's like.

"Okay here's the deal." Stacie said, breaking the silence and pulling Donald out of his thoughts.

"What?" he asked curiously.

"My mom is going to be here tomorrow morning, so from now on, we have to spend every one of our fake dates, studying for the next test. We also have to start acting like a couple. You can't act like your immature self all the time, and that can't possibly happen if you keep whining about too much homework and not enough food. You take what you get."

Donald didn't look the least bit pleased about these new rules, but he stayed quiet as Stacie rambled on.

"And on top of that, you have to look like a gentleman, and act like one too. And you're not allowed to be seen by mother, walking around campus in your low-riding jeans, and your ever-present smirk."

Donald blinked in confusion. "My what-riding-what, and what-present-what?"

Stacie rolled her eyes and huffed loudly. "Look." She said sternly pointing at him. "My mom thinks I'm dating this amazingly sweet guy, who wears glasses, has a cute smile, and is _extremely _talented and smart."

Donald scoffed. "Baby, I'm all of those things, and _then _some." He said confidently.

"I'm serious, Donald." Stacie interrupted. "She's expecting one of those sweet and innocent boys. Not the man-whore of Barden University."

Donald grasped at his chest in mock pain. "You wound me with your words, babe."

Stacie rolled her eyes again. It seems like she's been doing that a lot lately. The eye-rolling that is. "Donald." She said warningly.

Donald chuckled softly. "Fine. I'll be good."

Stacie raised an eyebrow at him. "That's it?... you're not going to complain or whine about it?"

Donald scoffed loudly. "Babe, why would an amazingly sweet guy like me complain about such a thing?"

Stacie giggled at that, and immediately stopped when she realized she was giggling again.

"Please just promise me you won't act like an idiot." Stacie pleaded.

Donald ignored the twist in his gut at the fact that Stacie thinks he would acts like an idiot. "I promise." He muttered softly. And he _does _promise. He's determined to prove to her that he can be the amazingly sweet guy she told her mom about.

* * *

…

"Holy shit." Donald muttered under his breath as he walked up to Stacie's room. He was supposed to meet her there, and then they'd ride together to the airport to pick up her mom before they all go out for lunch. He told Stacie he wasn't worried about meeting her mother, but truth be told, he was terrified. He has never met any of his ex-girlfriends parents before, and now he was getting ready to meet the mother of a girl he's not even dating.

Stacie swung the door open, eyes narrowed as she readied herself to scream at Donald for wearing inappropriate clothing to meet her mother, but she finds her jaw nearly hitting the floor as she stared at the sight before her.

Donald half wanted to smile in triumph at the look on Stacie's face, and half wanted to groan out loud because he's not sure where his brain ran off to as he stared down at Stacie's attire. Those long legs, traveling up to the tight, strapless black dress that hugged her figure in just the right places, and then her extremely glowing face, and that gorgeous smile.

"Hey." He greeted nervously. His nervousness was quickly replaced with awe as he looked her up and down. His jaw nearly smacking into the ground. He's seen her in jeans, and sweatpants, and tiny shirts and tops, but he had never seen her in a dress. She was… breathtakingly beautiful.

Donald momentarily closed his eyes, confused as to how the word "beautiful" got into his vocabulary. He shook his head and smiled at Stacie. She looked like she liked what he was wearing. He didn't feel very comfortable in his own clothe, mostly because he had never worn these fancy clothe before, but also because he doesn't like to look rich. Yes, his mom has a boatload of money in her account that could probably afford him several new cars, a yacht, and a mansion, but he doesn't like to flaunt his moms money. His good looks, yes. He's a freaking sex god. But his money? No. There's a reason for that. He used to find himself in a position where girls are piling up behind him because of his wealth, and are obviously with him for the money. So he decided to just do what he does best. He shuts down completely and won't let a single soul get past his barrier… or his moms money. But just this once, he opened up a bit, and he went as far as wearing clean, and expensive new dark black jeans, with a plain black collared shirt, complete with a dark blue sweater vest, a dark blue tie, a suit, and his usual black-framed glasses.

"H-Hey." Stacie stammered a bit.

"Hi… you—you umm, you look…" Donald trailed off as he shut his eyes tightly and mentally kicked himself for nervously stammering. When his eyes opened again, Stacie was smiling up at him with a questioning look. "You look beautiful." he finally managed, stumbling over the last word.

Stacie's smile widened as she finally voiced her own thoughts. "Well, you don't look so bad yourself… as a matter of fact, you clean up quite nicely."

Donald relaxed and flashed one of his charming-grins. "Thanks."

Stacie nodded and they both continued to stand there, just staring at each other for a few seconds.

"So… How ya' doin?" Donald asked, breaking the silence.

Stacie smiled softly. "Fine."

"That's good." Donald nodded.

"And you?" she asked while looking at him carefully.

"Doing pretty good." Donald answered without hesitation.

They both nodded and stared at each other for a few quiet moments.

"We're both stalling, aren't we?" Stacie asked with a slightly worried expression.

"Yep." Donald answered.

"You nervous?"

"No, are you?"

"Nope."

"I'm scared, actually." Stacie muttered softly.

"I'm scared shitless." Donald added.

"Let's just go." Stacie muttered as she stepped out of her room in her short black strapless dress that went just below her knees.

Donald held out his hand and smiled. A genuine, cute, and attractive smile that showed just the slightest hint of a dimple on his left cheek. "Your chariot awaits, my dearest flower petal."

Stacie quirked a questioning eyebrow at Donald who then shrugged and smiled wider. "Thought I'd polish my lines."

"Oh god, please for the love of everything holy on God's green earth, do _not _hit on my mother." Stacie groaned.

Donald laughed loudly. "Baby, I'm sure your mom is hot, but I've only got eyes for you, my dearest."

Stacie rolled her eyes as she shut her door behind her. "Please just stop with the cheesy lines."

"Anything for you, dollface."

"And don't ever call me dollface."

"Yes, love."

Stacie turned on Donald who then busted out laughing and holding up his hands in mock surrender.

"I'll cut you." she threatened playfully.

"I'll love you till the end of time." he deadpanned.

"I'll slap your smile right off your face."

"Anything to slide one onto yours." Donald countered.

Stacie actually stopped for a moment to look at him closely. Her lips threatening to quirk into a smile. "If things end well tonight, I'll buy you ice-cream." She bargained playfully.

"With lots of sprinkles?" Donald asked with a smirk.

"Yes, babe. Lots and lots of sprinkles."

"Oh yeah. We're totally a match made in heaven."

Stacie didn't realize that she's starting to become really comfortable with him, but Donald definitely noticed it.

-DS-

* * *

…

"I think I'm about to pass out." Donald said suddenly as they stood at the arrival lounge, waiting for Stacie's mother to come out.

"I think I'm about to have a heart attack."

"Yeah well, I think I'm about to shit my pants."

"Please don't." Stacie turned to him with a half-serious look.

"I'll try not to, but I can't guarantee I'll be walking around without a wet spot down the front of my jeans."

Stacie rolled her eyes at him. "Okay, pretty soon my mom's gonna come out, and we have to get our stories straight."

Donald nodded and ran their story through his head once more. "We met in English class, I gave you a tour of the school campus, and you immediately fell in love with me."

Stacie glared at him. "I'm pretty sure that's not how our story goes."

"Really now?" Donald muttered with a mischievous grin and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her closer to his side so that their hips were pressed together.

Stacie smirked up at him. "Yes, I'm quite positive about it."

"How does it go then?" he asked with a sly smile.

"Well yes, we met in English class, we immediately became fast friends, and we've been hanging out a lot, and then one night nearly four months ago, you asked me out on a date, and I said yes."

Donald nodded, "True story, babe."

Stacie snorted and laid a hand on his chest. "Yes, and we've been going strong."

Donald stayed silent for a few long moments before finally voicing his thoughts. "I kinda feel bad about lying to your mom." He stated softly.

Stacie looked up at him with a blank expression. "She's _my _mom." She said flatly. "How do _you _think_ I _feel about this whole thing?"

Donald shrugged a bit. "Shitty?"

Stacie nodded in confirmation. "Pretty much."

For a few minutes, they both just stared at the walls, each feeling nervous about the meet and greet that's about to go down soon.

And soon enough, Stacie spotted her mother walking up out of the arrival lounge, and she immediately felt her face light up, and her lips quickly turned from a slightly confused frown, to a huge, and genuine smile. She realized that she had missed her mother a lot in the past few weeks, and finally seeing her again was enough to bring happy tears to her eyes.

"That's her?" Donald asked suddenly as he tried to straighten up his tie.

Stacie nodded. "Yes, remember, her name is Ophelia."

Donald nodded. "How do I look?" he asked as he flashed a quick smile at her. Stacie actually paused to admire and revel in these rare moments where Donald _really _smiles. "You look good." She said softly.

Donald grinned widely. "Of course, babe. If a guy is to date you, he has to match your looks. And I'm the perfect match for you."

Stacie bit her lip to keep from smiling and leaned closer into his side, while they waited for her mom to come through the arrival lounge.

Donald nervously fidgeted with his tie, while his other hand twined itself with Stacie's hand. He could feel the cold nervousness seeping through her fingers and into his own, but he ignored it as he stared straight ahead at Stacie's mom. He smiled when he noticed the resemblance between the two. Stacie definitely inherited her good looks from her mom. Her eyes, nose, and smile almost identical to the elder one of the two women.

Stacie's mom squealed in delight when she finally caught sight of her daughter, immediately bounding towards her. Stacie stepped away from her "boyfriend" and met her mom halfway, quickly throwing her arms around her mom and hugging her tightly for a few short moments. "Oh I've missed you so much, sweetheart." Her mom whispered into her shoulder.

"I missed you too, mom." Stacie smiled happily, tears of joy collecting in her eyes as she worked hard to keep them at bay. When they pulled away, Stacie's mother immediately turned to Donald with a huge smile.

"You must be Donald Travers!" she exclaimed. Donald could only nod and smile politely as he held out his hand for a handshake. He's slightly caught off guard when Stacie's mom completely ignored his outstretched hand, and instead, pulled him into a tight hug. "It's so great to finally meet you."

Donald stood awkwardly still. "It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am."

Stacie's mom snorted. "Get out of here with all that 'ma'am' nonsense. Call me Ophelia. Or O.

"Yes, Mrs. Conrad." Again, Stacie's mom laughed loudly and glanced at her daughter.

"You didn't tell me he's so polite and good looking." She said rather loudly.

Stacie groaned softly and stepped up to the two to officially introduce them to each other. "Donald," she began and looked up into her moms eyes. "This is my mom, Ophelia Morgan Conrad."

She chanced a glance at Donald and sighed inwardly when she saw his _real _smile flashing brightly at her mom. "Pleasure to meet you." Ophelia smiled back.

"Mom, this is my boyfriend." Stacie said with a wide smile. "Donald Travers." She finished and gave Donald a grateful smile for being there.

Donald felt weird being here. Not because he didn't want to be here, because he did. But it was weird because he felt good about being introduced to a girl's parents. He's never been the guy who girls would pick to introduce to their moms. And finally meeting a girls mom, and actually given an approving look, made him feel weird. Good weird. Kind of warm and fuzzy inside.

* * *

-DS-

…

Stacie was extremely surprised by Donald and her mom's natural connection. It's almost like they've known each other for a long time and hadn't just met an hour ago. They were both laughing and joking. Donald actually putting a cute twist into their dating- storyline, and making it seem like the most romantic thing in the world, and he kept giving her these little glances and looks that made her feel… things that she knows she can't afford to be feeling.

"So, where was your first date?" Ophelia asked with a questioning smile.

"Starbucks." Donald and Stacie answered in unison.

Stacie's mother actually giggled. "Aww, that is so cute." She sighed heavily and smiled over at the two. "Stacie told me that all your dates went well, but she didn't exactly go into details about the where and when, and how many's."

Donald took that as his cue and went ahead, telling Stacie's mom about all their supposed dates. Stacie nearly choked on her salad when she heard Donald tell her mom that they were planning on going out to Coney Island on Friday night, and that she should join them.

"I don't know… I don't want to intrude on you two."

"I insist, Mrs. O… you should go out and have fun too. And what better way to have fun than to ride a rollercoaster?" Donald asked jokingly.

Stacie glared at the side of Donald's head. This wasn't part of their plan. They were supposed to pretend to date around her mom. Not go on date _with_ her mom.

Ophelia turned to Stacie with a questioning smile, and Stacie melted. With that look on her mom's face, she couldn't deny that Donald may have a point with this. "You should come with us."

Ophelia smiled giddily at the two, her heart feeling like its expanding inside her chest. Stacie looked so happy, and she was glowing, and Donald was such a nice guy. She couldn't help but feel her entire soul relax. When her daughter had told her about her new boyfriend and how great he was with her, Ophelia was a bit skeptical. Surely, this guy can't be all those amazing things that Stacie had told her about… but finally being able to meet him and see what he's like, changed her perspective completely. He was perfect for Stacie, and Ophelia was practically beaming as she finally accepted their invitation to join them on a day out.

-DS-

* * *

…

Donald hopped out of his car and ran around the other side to open the door for Stacie. He didn't dwell on the fact that he had never opened a door for a girl he was not going to sleep with.

Stacie smiled widely as she stepped out of Donald's car, feeling higher than Mt. Everest. To say that their night went well, was an understatement. Donald had been the perfect gentleman. He was kind, polite, and extremely funny, and Stacie was a hundred and ten percent sure that he had won her mother's approval the moment he called her "ma'am".

"So." Donald sighed lightly, breaking Stacie from her thoughts.

Stacie stopped shortly in front of the hood of his car and pulled him towards her with a grin. "So…" she drawled. "Tonight was amazing."

Donald shrugged with a wider grin. "It could get better."

Stacie cocked her head to the side, "How?"

"We could be something more, you know?" he muttered softly.

Stacie stared back into his eyes, at a loss for words.

Donald slowly leaned forward, and stopped when Stacie quickly turned her head to the side. "I can't." she whispered softly.

Stacie felt like kicking herself when she saw a flicker of pain on his face, but it was gone as quickly as it came. He only smiled softly as he leaned down and placed a lingering kiss on her cheek. "Don't fight it, babe." He whispered. With that, he pulled her hand up to his lips, placing a warm kiss on the back of it, before walking away.

Stacie didn't bother denying that maybe he's not that bad. Maybe he could be something more. Right now, they were at the newly-friends stage, and she really liked where they are. She doesn't want to dive into anything deep because it could turn out a disaster in the end like all her previous relationships.

But still, she kind of hoped they were _really _something more.

DS-

* * *

Author's Note: Yay! Got the mother here, they met, mom approves of Donald, Stacie denies feelings for Donald, Donald surprises mom, Donald tries to kiss Stacie, Stacie denies him a kiss, Donald kisses her cheek and hand instead, and Stacie is starting to see Donald in a brighter light. Yep! That about sums it up. Could've made this the entire chapter, but I'm guessing you guys wouldn't like it very much. Anyway, I really hope you kinda liked this. The idea for this chapter was to point out that Donald is really struggling with class... that really only applies to the story, so they could spend more time together, otherwise, they'd only see each other in English class. Also, I wanted to add more, but since I'm on a tight schedule, I thought I'd just post this for now, and add the rest in Chapter 5. Speaking of which, stay tuned for Chapter 5! Next chapter, some of the Bella's will be mentioned here and there in the chapter, and someone is going to be signing up for the Barden Bella's! Yes, in the movie, Stacie auditioned. But for this one, you'll just have to wait for my sneaky imagination to come up with a way to stick her in the Barden Bella's. Anyway, thank you all so much for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and following this story. I really really really appreciate it, and I love you all so much for taking the time to review, so please review!

-Sux2budude

P.S- Ophelia is just a name that I thought of. It's a really pretty name, and I couldn't really think of a name as cute as Stacie. I hope you don't hate it.


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Pretend To Be Mine

Pairing: Stacie/Donald

A/N:

Hello again. First I want to apologize for the late update. I've just been extremely busy over the past few weeks. But I've been writing during my spare times which are quickly diminishing, so my updates won't be as close together as they used to. However, I DO promise to complete all my stories. Anyway, Chapter five is finally done, so REVIEW! A special thanks to the ones who have reviewed the previous chapter! I love you all for doing so. Enjoy!

-Sux2budude

* * *

Chapter Five:

* * *

...

"You HAVE to audition for the Barden Bella's." Donald says immediately upon entering her room.

Stacie looks curiously at him, "What?"

"Your singing voice is amazing!"

"How would you know that? I don't recall ever singing out loud since I started here."

Donald grins widely, "Your mom told me."

"She what?!" Stacie asks incredulously as she turns to her pretend boyfriend.

Donald only nods with a shrug, "She dropped by to see if we're still on for Friday night."

"And she came to you?"

"No, she was looking for you, but you were in class at the time so she told me to tell you that she dropped by."

Stacie huffs as she plops down at her desk chair, "And how did the topic of my singing come about?"

Donald's smile slides off for a long moment, "Uhh, I may have asked her for a few tips about you."

"You may have asked her for a few tips?" she asks flatly.

He practically crumbles under her stare. "Okay, I asked your mom if you were any good at singing."

"Why would you ask her that?"

Donald shrugs lightly and drops down beside her. "A friend of mine is recruiting for the Barden Bella's. You already have the looks, so I was just wondering if you had the voice to complete the Bella requirements."

"Requirements?"

"I don't know, I just figured that they picked their singers based on their hotness and their vocals."

Stacie rolls her eyes with a sigh, "Well, you can't just force me to audition... Besides, sign-ups for the clubs are probably over right now." she glances at her bedside clock and looks back at him, "It's almost twelve."

Donald smiles innocently at her, before it turns to a sheepish grin.

Stacie groans loudly, "What did you do, Donald?"

He shrinks away, "I might have signed you up this morning."

"You MIGHT have?"

"I'm sorry!" Donald yelps as Stacie hurls a pillow at his head.

"Oh, you owe me big time, Travers!"

Donald snorts as he runs towards the door, quickly ducking as a notebook hits the wall beside his head.

-SD-

...

It's a bright, sunny day and Stacie is buzzing with nerves. She can't predict how things are going to go at Coney Island with her mom and Donald, so she busies herself with her homeworks, and studying.

The time for her to meet up with Donald rolls around and she calls him to avoid any more nerves from giving her an epileptic shock.

"Sup, babe." he greets all too cheerfully.

"Hey, we still on for tonight?"

"Of course. But I must warn you, I'm like a bee at these things, so you better make sure you can keep up with me." he says jokingly, and Stacie grins, finally relaxing and loving his ability to always make her smile.

"Oh you should really be careful of who you're talking to." Stacie jokes.

"Is that a threat?" he asks playfully.

"It's a challenge, honey."

She hears him laugh, "Scarf five coneydogs and ride the giant swing twice?"

She answers with a laugh of her own. "You are so on!"

"Bet on it?"

She smiles mischievously, "Name your price."

"If I win, I get a kiss."

Stacie's thrown a bit, but she doesn't back down. "And if I win, you get to paint my toenails tomorrow."

He laughs at that. "You're on."

-SD-

Stacie watches her mom laughing so hard, and it makes her heart warm. She hasn't seen her like this in a while, and it takes a whole load off her shoulders... And it's all thanks to a certain guy, who is currently trying to throw pies at one of the game operators... and missing.

Ophelia steps up next to him and grabs one of his pies before pulling her arm back and sending the pie flying straight into the game operators face, hitting his face perfectly, and splattering the walls beside him.

Donald laughs along with Ophelia and he gives her a high-five.

"What in the world was that?" he asks.

Ophelia shrugs, "I was the MVP for the girls Varsity softball team back in high school."

"That was awesome!" Donald whirls around and spots Stacie smiling from her place at the table. "Hey babe! Get over here! You never told me your mom has a killer throwing arm."

Stacie gets up and walks over to where Donald is trying to throw another pie at the game operator's face. Her mom pulls away from the booth to stand beside her, as they both watch Donald throw and miss.

"He's a keeper." Ophelia murmurs to her daughter with a smile on her face.

Stacie stares back at Donald, a small smile playing on her lips. "He really is."

They continue to play random games here and there, until Ophelia plops down on a bench and shoo's the couple away to get some time on their own. They both agree to it, so as to not look suspicious if they declined.

Donald takes the time to pull her over to a food booth, and buying ten coneydogs for them. "You still owe me that kiss." he says with a grin.

Stacie laughs as she takes a hotdog from him. "Don't you mean you owe me a pedicure?" she takes her first bite of her coneydog and takes her time chewing as Donald scarfs down half his hot dog in one bite.

"You sure about that?" he says over a mouthful.

"Oh yeah, you ready to barf by the end of the night?"

"Don't count on it, babe."

They eat the rest of their coneydogs before running over to the giant swing.

Stacie takes her seat on the giant swing and glances behind her where Donald is sitting looking like he's about to barf. "You don't look so good back there." she calls. To be honest, she doesn't feel so good either, and she probably looks the way he does right then.

He shakes his head dismissively, "Nah, I'm fine, babe."

"You sure?"

He steels himself, "Yeah."

"Okay, but make sure you don't get sick while we're on the swing. I don't feel like taking a barf bath tonight."

He laughs, and she can tell by the weakness of it that he's really not feeling that well. He did after all chomp down five hotdogs in a maximum of five minutes. It's probably not digesting yet. She goes to call if he'd like to forfeit the bet, but the swing suddenly lurchs forward and it slowly starts to pick up speed. Soon enough, the swing was whipping through the air at breakneck speed, and she closes her eyes tightly, hoping she doesn't get sick too soon.

After what felt like a year long ride to hell and back, the swing finally slows to a halt, and she sits there for a few moments, trying to get her vision to stop moving in circles. She's taken aback by the sound of someone vomiting from behind her, and she turns to see Donald puking all over the grass in front of him. She dizzily approaches him, not at all feeling very well. She feels her food traveling back up from her stomach, and then she's puking too, right next to him. She dry heaves for a few long moments until she's sure she's emptied out the contents of her stomach.

Donald wipes his mouth on his sleeve and looks at her. She smiles at him, and he grins back until they're suddenly laughing so hard, she thinks she might barf again.

"Who's dumb idea was it to eat five hotdogs before riding a giant swing?"

Donald shakes his head, "I thought I had a strong stomach... The last time I tried that, I was fine."

"When was the last time you tried that?"

He rubs his stomach as they slowly start back towards the game booths where they left Stacie's mom.

"I was in the third grade." he replies.

Stacie laughs as she leads them towards the restrooms. "Let's wash up first. We both smell like barf."

"Please don't say barf." Donald groans.

"Barf." Stacie teases.

He chuckles as they each separate to wash up inside the restrooms.

The night finally comes to an end, and they're all eating cotton candy as they head towards the parking lot.

Ophelia hugs Donald and thanks him and Stacie for inviting her tonight, letting them know that she had so much fun.

"Anytime, Mrs. O." Donald says politely as he backs towards his car to give the two women some time alone.

Ophelia turns to her daughter with a huge smile on her face, "Your father would've loved him." she states.

Stacie smiles as she looks over to where Donald is currently leaning against his car and taking a huge bite from his cotton candy, grinning boyishly. "Yeah."

"I really do think he might be the perfect one for you."

Stacie's smile turns a bit sad, feeling terrible for lying to her mother. Her mom seems so much more relaxed that she's met Donald and actually thinks that he was really Stacie's boyfriend. It's seriously not a thought she wants to dwell on because if she was to have it her way, things would be much more complicated. The fact is, Donald is only pretending, and she knows she can't afford to lose focus of that. This was just an agreement between them. And sometimes she wishes she knew exactly what he's thinking. She could never be sure if he's really giving her those warm looks that makes her feel all tingly inside, or if he's just pretending because her mother was around. Still, she needs to keep up with the pretending, if only to let her mom rest from worrying over her.

"I think so too, mom." and to some extent, she really thinks that.

"Well, you're probably tired. I am too, so you should get some rest, Sweety... Sorry I won't be able to make your audition for the Barden Bella's." Ophelia apologizes sincerely.

"It's okay, mom... Donald will be there." she says hoping her mom would just relax. It works and her mom smiles warmly in Donald's direction. "Make sure to thank him again for me."

Stacie nods as she steps up to her mom and hugs her tightly. "I'll call you tomorrow."

"Okay, take care of yourself, and don't stay up too late."

Stacie nods with a smile as she pulls away. "I know... Love you, mom."

"I love you too."

"Drive safely!" Ophelia calls over to Donald as he waves.

Stacie heaves a sigh of relief as she saunters over to Donald's car.

"I guess I won't be getting that kiss." Donald says with a little smile.

Stacie smiles back at him. "I guess I won't be getting that pedicure."

Donald laughs as he steps next to her. "I think we make a good couple." he mutters softly.

Stacie quirks an eyebrow at him, but he's looking at her in that way that gets her nervous, so she looks away.

"You don't have to fight it, you know?" he says.

She knows that he's referring to whatever it is that's between them. "I can't afford to be distracted from school."

He smirks at her then, "I'm a distraction to you?"

She quickly denies with an obviously fake scoff that makes Donald laugh. "Pshhh, no... Not in the way you're thinking."

Donald raises his hand in mock surrender. "Fine... But since we both lost the bet, how about you let me walk you to your room."

Stacie finally lets her facade fall away as she smiles sweetly at him. "Still challenging?"

"Of course."

"Fine." she finally agrees. "But you owe me lunch on our next study-session."

He pretends to choke out a gasp as he holds a hand to his heart in mock surprise. "Are you asking me out?"

Stacie smacks him playfully on the arm as she opens the passenger door with a laugh, "You wish, Travers."

Their night finally comes to an end as Donald leans against the wall beside the door to her room.

"Tonight was fun." he mutters.

Stacie smiles with a nod. "Yeah... Thank you for feigning amusement tonight. I don't think I've ever seen my mom laugh so much."

He shrugs, "I didn't have to fake anything cause your mom is pretty cool."

"Yeah."

There's a pause for a few moments as they just stare at each other with wide grins on their faces.

"I should probably go and let you get some sleep."

"Yeah." she nods again, but she makes no move towards the door. Instead she steps closer to him, watching his eyes flicker to her lips.

"Can I kiss you?" he suddenly asks in a breathy whisper.

She doesn't answer as her eyes slowly close and she leans towards him. After a moment, she finally feels his lips against hers and she's sure she's never felt anything so perfect. Their lips move in sync and she likes how soft his lips are against hers. He pulls away slowly and she keeps her eyes closed trying to savor the feeling.

"I should really go now." she hears him whisper.

"Wha-?" she feels dazed as she leans towards him again, feeling like there's an invisible tether pulling her to him. Their lips meet again, but this time he deepens it, his tongue seeking entrance and she immediately grants access as her arms move of their own accord and wrap around his neck.

His arms find their way around her hips and that's when she finally snaps out of her dazed state. She pulls back quickly as if she was burned and she stares wide eyed at his face.

"What's wrong?" he asks confusedly.

"I'm sorry... I shouldn't have kissed you." her voice is somewhat frantic.

"What? What are you talking about? I'm totally okay with this." he protests as she steps away from his arms.

Stacie shakes her head wryly, "Of course you're okay with this... This is what you do, isn't it?"

Donald shakes his head as he tries to get her to stay. "No, it's not... I'm just- I'm sorry if-"

"No, I'm sorry." Stacie cuts him off. "You should go."

Before he can protest, Stacie closes the door in his face, leaving him completely confused as to what was going on.

Donald yanks at his hair with one hand and rubs his forehead with the other. "Fuck." he breathes frustratedly as he turns away and heads back to his room, wondering how a single kiss from a girl could manage to destroy half his brain cells... Or at least he thinks it destroyed half his brain cells because he can't think clearly.

He turns back and grits out a frustrated, "I already have enough missing brain cells!" he kicks a door to his right and stomps away before the owner of the room could come outside and kill whoever kicked their door at 12:34pm.

-SD-

...

Stacie breathes in deeply and lets it out slowly as she awaits the conclusion to her audition. She's extremely annoyed that she may have messed up because Donald was right in the audience, smiling up at her. It's been two days since the kiss they shared and it's honestly been an excruciatingly slow two days for her. He acts like nothing happened between them, and she's not sure whether to feel relaxed or repulsed. He seems unaffected by a lot of things, and it's unsettling.

"Stacie Conrad?" The redhead from the Barden Bella's calls her name.

Stacie steps forward with a nervous smile.

The redhead climbs atop the stage and approaches her with a wide smile, that helps to calm some of her nerves. "Congratulations, you got through!"

Stacie let's out a relieved sigh, and everyone freezes when someone from the audience erupts into an applaudclaps with a loud whoop. She blushes when she sees Donald grinning from ear to ear as he continues to applaud her.

"Your boyfriend?" The redhead asks with a smile. Stacie looks back at Donald, feeling her stomach flutter around at the sight of his supportive self.

If he asks, she'll just say she was sticking with their agreement. "Yeah." she nods.

"Wow... that's impressive."

"What is?"

"You managed to tame wonder-boy."

"Oh." she says because she's not sure what to say to that. After all, she's only pretending to 'tame' wonder-boy.

Well, I'm Chloe. Welcome to the Barden Bella's." The redhead grins widely and sticks out her hand.

Stacie grins as she shakes Chloe's hand. "Thank you."

The blonde girl which Stacie figured was the leader approaches them with a little smile. "Reference from Donald is high praise." she says, obviously impressed. "But with your performance, Donald's reference is barely visible... Your performance was spectacular."

Stacie thanks the girl who then introduces herself as Aubrey, the leader of the Barden Bella's.

"So we'll see you tonight at the initiation?" Chloe asks expectantly.

"You will." Stacie chances a glance in Donald's direction, and he's still smiling supportively at her. He gives her a quick thumbs-up and she can't help but smile back. She hopes he can see the apology in her eyes for going all weird on him after the kiss.

-DS-

...

He approaches her as she's about to exit the auditorium.

"I'm sorry about the other night." he says, his hands stuck inside the pockets of his jeans.

She's genuinely surprised that he's apologizing to her, considering the size of his ego. "No, I'm the one who should be apologizing for acting like a maniac."

He only shakes his head and insists that he's the one at fault... Which, is kind of true because it kind of is his fault for being so goddamn hot all the time. How can anyone resist him?!

"Truce?" he holds out his hand with a sheepish grin.

She shakes it and doesn't let go when his fingers intertwine with hers. She must admit that she's never liked the feeling of anyone's hands as much as she likes his. Warm, rough, yet soft at the same time.

"I'm still sorry." Stacie mutters softly.

"Don't be." he lifts their intertwined hands and places a short kiss behind hers. "You can blame Chemistry."

She smiles widely at him as they make their way out of the auditorium.

Chemistry is certainly the one to blame.

-SD-

A/N: Yellow everybody! Haha... Well, I've finally managed to stick Stacie into the Barden Bella's. I know, she seems like a prude in this story, but fret not my wonderful reading ducklings! There will be a shitload of flirtatious moments between Stacie and wonder-boy Donald in the next chapter. Just think of all the possibilities of that nail-biting build-up to when Stacie finally can't deny that she's got the FEELS for Donald, aye? (*wink wink*) And Donald can't deny that Stacie is the only girl that makes him want to be a better person. But that's in the long-haul. For now, let's enjoy the flirty parts, like the party after the initiation, and there's the riff-off! All those amazing little moments with my own translations of what went down between the two... And no, I've decided that Stacie and Donald needs a break from the whole "No Treble-Banging" rule that Aubrey made in the movie. I want the Treble's and the Bella's to get along for a change. Anyway, this chapter was kind of a fluke. I just wanted to post a little something for all you wonderful readers who thought I died or fell off the face of the earth. I assure you, I'm still alive and well. Just a bit busy with life. :) Anyway, next chapter will start out amazingly light and fluffy-ish, but it MIGHT end in a bit of an angsty cliff-hanger way. Just a heads up on that. But thanks again for reading, and please review!

-Sux2budude


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